They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But does that apply to wizards as well as to muggles?
Five months after a Harry Potter-themed shop opened its doors on Shambles – and proved to be a huge hit – a second very similar store is set to move in just three doors down.
In May, after two years in the planning, York retailer Adam Rodway opened The Shop That Must Not Be Named at number 30 Shambles.
Dressed to look as though you were entering the Potterverse, the shop was the perfect fit for a street said to be the inspiration for the movie version of Diagon Alley, the cobbled shopping thoroughfare in JK Rowling’s stories.
It sells every style of Potter-related gift. And (after our original story and video about the shop went viral) people were queuing down Shambles to get in.
Wands and broomsticks
Clearly this popularity has not gone unnoticed. Because plans are now in with City of York Council to turn number 27 Shambles into The World Of Wizardry.
Current occupants The Art Shop are moving out. And the new tenants want to turn the store into another olde worlde experience, complete with false timber joints, a ‘feature timber arch door’ and new wooden shelving units.
It will sell souvenirs and gifts. And, according to the plans there are areas on the walls for Harry Potter props including broomsticks, a sorting hat, and an area marked ‘The Wand Chooses The Wizard’.
Considering they now have a Harry Potter themed menu across the road at the Flax And Twine, Shambles is slowing being taken over by the Hogwarts myth.
Goodbye from the Art Shop
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/vb2ERLmv-hE” title=”The YorkMix film on the original Shambles Potter shop” /]
The arrival of The World Of Wizardry means the end of another independent shop.
The Art Shop has been trading on Shambles since 1991. The business of former teacher Chris Fletcher and his wife Eileen, it has sold everything for the artist, from paint and paper to posable mannequins.
Chris and Eileen are shutting up shop because they are retiring.
“It’s been wonderful,” Chris told YorkMix. “We have had some great people to work with and customers.”
In a statement on their shop door, they said:
It has been a real pleasure and a privilege to be involved in such a creative business and we will miss you all.
The couple still own the shop, but Chris said they didn’t have any details about what was happening to it.
Related YorkMix stories
Magic! Harry Potter shop opens on the real Diagon Alley – Shambles in York
Now you can snap up a souvenir from legendary nightspot the Willow – from Tommy Fong’s new shop
Barnitts gets bigger! Historic store plans new retail showroom outside the city centre